'Planet of the Apes' Sequel Casts First New Human

Director Matt Reeves has cast his first new human actor in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Joining the cast that, so far, only brings back Andy Serkis for performance capture work, is Zero Dark Thirty and Lawless actor, Jason Clarke as the film is currently targeting a spring shoot for its May 23, 2014 release.

The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which also brings the first details on the plot, which will apparently be set 15 years after the events of the first film. The story will focus on a group of human scientists struggling to survive alone in San Francisco, while Caesar (Serkis) attempts to maintain dominance over the newly formed ape kingdom.

There's no word on what role Clarke will play, nor is their word as to whether or not James Franco will return, though, at this point, it doesn't seem likely to me.

It will be interesting to see how they handle the epidemic, which began with the airline pilot and how the rest of the world was affected. I can only assume news agencies won't exist and some primitive level of radio will be the only way to communicate, but I felt the one thing the ending to the first film did well was to make it more of a global issue rather than a centralized, San Francisco issue. Will that be addressed at all?

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What a great bit of casting news! I've been a big fan of Clarke's since his starring role in the great Showtime series, Brotherhood (2006-2008). He's continually impressed as a solid character actor in films like Lawless, Public Enemies & Zero Dark Thirty. I'd much rather see him in the new Planet of the Apes instead of another weak turn by James Franco.

Thems the facts

http://www.criterion.com/my_criterion/27913-criterion10 Criterion10

I thought Clarke was excellent in Zero Dark Thirty, so I hope to see him continue to get more roles from now on. This seems like a good start.